


Stuck in My Head (Stuck on My Heart)

by immortalbanner



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Past Feelings, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), So Is Peter, Thor and Bruce are both bi, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 20:39:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18858679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immortalbanner/pseuds/immortalbanner
Summary: Bruce knew Sakaar and the kisses he and Thor had shared were five years ago, but it was too late for much of anything to resolve what had happened between them.More importantly, Hulk was getting harder and harder to contain and Bruce didn't need anything to trigger him out. Especially not a God he can't seem to get over.





	Stuck in My Head (Stuck on My Heart)

If there was anyone Bruce hadn’t expected to call him, Betty Ross made it really high on that list.

He’d settled into New York, mostly trying to live a quiet life. After years of fighting, he was giving himself a well deserved break.

When he saw Betty’s name on the called ID, he took a moment to answer it. The constant voice in the back of his head made his own comment.

_‘Pretty woman?’_

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Yes, it’s her.”

_‘Miss her’_

He swallowed. He took a deep breath and answered his phone. “Betty?”

“Hi, Bruce.”

Her voice was the same. Even if it had been over a decade since he’d seen her. The last time they’d spoken, it was when Hulk was still new and he fled to New York. It was when Hulk was still a parasite to him, something he was terrified to let run wild. He didn’t want Betty wrapped up in it, he didn’t trust himself to not hurt her.

What they’d had ended a long time ago. Even if he now had control over Hulk, they weren’t ever going to get back together.

That only added to his question of why she was calling him.

“I didn’t expect to hear from you,” he said, trying to not sound like he didn’t want to hear from her. He did, he missed the hell out of her.

“Yeah, that’s fair. But I’m in New York and I was wondering if you wanted to catch up?”

He felt a cold rush. The idea of seeing Betty again caused a feeling he couldn’t describe. Not a longing, not dread, not happiness, not anxiety.

Betty was Betty. She was a lot of things. She was his ex-girlfriend. Someone he thought was the love of his life. Someone he never wanted to let down.

“Okay, when would you like to meet up?”

* * *

 “I knew you’d changed, but god, you’ve definitely changed.”

Betty had her own experiences with the Hulk, Bruce remembered all too well. He wasn’t every completely sure she wasn’t scared of him. There’s not many people, outside of the Avengers, he knew for sure weren’t scared of the Hulk. Betty wasn’t one of them.

He shuffled in the small space. He still wasn’t used to how much space Hulk’s body took up. He had become overly conscious of those kind of things.

“It’s good to see you,” Betty said.

Bruce decided to believe her. “You too.”

She looked down at her coffee, tearing opening a sugar packet and pouring it into the mug and stirring it with a popsicle stick. Bruce watched her, waiting for her to look back at him.

She took a sip of her mug and looked back at him. “What’ve you been doing anyway? Aside from,” she gestured to, well, all of him. “This.”

“Uh…” He wasn’t sure where to even begin. Most of his life had to do with Hulk or the Avengers. He couldn’t separate them from his life after that many years.

He said the first thing that came to his brain. “I went to space.” Sakaar had everything and nothing to do with Hulk or the Avengers. In some ways, Sakaar was Hulk well and truely enjoying his time out. In others, it was about him and Thor and things that happened between them he tried to forget.

She blinked at him, then leaned back in her chair and sighed. “I feel like I should be surprised but I’m not.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Can we, for like two minutes, pretend we’re just old friends catching up?”

He decided to not point out that they were exes as well. “I don’t know what to talk about, I’m sorry.”

“C’mon, I was dead for five years, something interesting should’ve happened.”

He felt himself tense. Yes, he knew she was decimated, he made sure to check for himself. It was still something he preferred to ignore.

“What do you want to know?” he asked, attempting to lean back into his chair but the chair wasn’t exactly Hulk sized.

“I don’t know. Life, love, anything that doesn’t have to do with purple aliens or Norse gods bent on taking over New York.”

He let himself laugh. He wasn’t sure if he should tell her about Natasha. They were always a will they won’t they. She was more or less the first person to show possible romantic interest in him in years and he let his hopes get the best of him. She was always more of an infatuation than a woman he was in love with.

Who he had actually had any kind of romantically intimate contact with wasn’t really what he wanted to bring up.

“No, I haven’t dated. Been too busy with research.”

“Right,” she nodded and cleared her throat. “I was dating someone before I was dusted. It was only for like, three months. When I came back, found out he now had a wife and a kid.”

“Oh.” He wasn’t sure what to say to that. It was depressing for sure. He knew how many people lost from being gone for five years. Scott talked a lot about his disappointment of missing five years of his daughter’s life.

He thought back to those five years, which was really years he spent distracting himself. After Thor killed Thanos and there seemed to be no hope, everyone began to mourn in their own ways. The Avengers disbanded, and he didn’t hear from most in years.

That was why he threw himself into his work. He tried to perfect his initial experiment with the gamma radiation, resulting in his Hulk body and Banner control state. He felt his façade of the experiment being a success and there wasn’t always a voice in the back of his head was working. But he knew for sure if something caused too much stress and he didn’t focus on controlling himself he would set off a bomb. He barely made it through the gauntlet. He knew eventually something would give Hulk control and he had no idea what he was going to do when it inevitably happened.

She shrugged. “I’m over it, I guess. I just wonder what could’ve been.”

He nodded, taking hold of his mug, taking a small sip. He stared down at his mug after he set it down. “There was someone. Kind of.” ‘Kind of’ wasn’t exactly the right words. It felt like an overstatement. It felt like he was putting more into something that didn’t have much to it.

“Really? What happened?”

He took a deep breath and met her eye. “I guess he’s what you’d call, the one that got away,” he muttered. “We never had a chance to really see what we could be. It was the closest I’d been to someone since, well, us.”

She nodded. They didn’t need to talk about what they’d had, he doubted that was her goal. He also didn’t want to talk about his failed romantic escapades.

‘ _Miss friend_ ’ he heard Hulk’s voice say.

‘ _I do too_ ’ he said back to him, even if they were in different ways.

“So he broke your heart?” she frowned at him, pushing back hair that had fallen in his face.

“Yeah.” But he didn’t think he did it on purpose. Thor had his own struggles and Bruce had his. A few years of seeing each other every now and again, feeling strongly towards the god, and the both of them getting a little too carried away once they were on the ship with the displaced Asgardians and heading to earth. After Sakaar, he’d realised he’d felt more for Thor than he’d previously thought he had. He went to his room to see him after everything had cooled down a little. They sat on his bed for a few moments and before he knew it, they were kissing. They didn’t go beyond kissing but it was something he had finally realised he’d been desperate for.

Of course it didn’t last forever and Thor mentioned how he needed to talk to Loki for a minute, telling him he would be quick.

Thanos came and the chaos began. As Valkyrie was directing the Asgardians into a safer location, Thor ran up to him and asked him if he could bring out Hulk to stop him. Of course Bruce had agreed, they needed as much power as possible against this all powerful being.

Before he transformed into the Hulk, Thor took his face into his hands and kissed him.

It was a promise. That was what it felt like. That once it was all over, they would sort things out and be together. It reminded him too much of when Betty kissed him right before he went to fight Blonsky.

He broke the promise quickly enough. In the chaos of everything, there wasn’t exactly time to talk about feelings in such a way.

The next thing he knew, it’d been five years.

When he went to see him in New Asgard and he hugged him, it felt like maybe something was still there. But Thor never said anything, which meant Bruce decided to not say anything. He was never great at making the first move, especially if it was a literal god who took his breath away the first time he met him. Mostly because he couldn’t believe he existed.

Now it was too late to do much of anything. More because Thor was in space with Rocket’s crew. He didn’t even get a real goodbye or promises told through intimate actions. He left like the last decade never happened.

He wasn’t ever really sure he was hurt or just plain bitter that the first time in years love had shown its head to him, it got away before he could do anything about it. Maybe he was partially at fault to for not doing anything about it. He wasn’t sure if he deserved someone like Thor.

Betty squeezed his wrist. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you’ll find someone else.”

He didn’t tell her his dating life wasn’t the same when people only saw Hulk, or that he wasn’t even sure he wanted anyone else.

* * *

 

Travelling with the Guardians of the Galaxy was exactly what Thor needed to take his mind off of things.

He and Quill were still bucking heard over who was the leader, but he seemed more distracted by Gamora. It seemed it still hadn’t full settled that this Gamora was different from the one who had been his lover.

Thor hadn’t had a lover in too long. After Jane broke it off, he hadn’t exactly been looking for love.

The changed when he was on Sakaar.

Seeing Bruce brought out a certain kind of euphoria. He hadn’t ever previously thought he would be excited to see Bruce, and certainly not Hulk. He wasn’t sure if something had been festering inside of him for a long period of time. What he did know what that when they were on the Grandmaster’s ship with the Asgardians, something came over him. He wasn’t sure if it was his emotions getting to him, or if he had misread Bruce, but he knew kissing him had been a mistake. It only became worse when he kissed him right before Thanos invaded. In the moment, he was pretty confident they were somewhere on the same page. He knew it was a mistake now.

After so much time apart, he hadn’t been sure what to do and chose the route of not bringing it up. It seemed safer to leave it in the past and not let it interfere with the more important things.

Even if there wasn’t for the chaos, he had no doubts Bruce was in love with Natasha and he had stepped over a boundary. A piece of him feared he resented him for kissing him. He wasn’t sure how Midgardians typically sorted these situations out.

Once he’d finished of Thanos, he hadn’t been much ready to look into any romantic prospects. Alcohol became his primary love, to the point it was unhealthy. He was still working on that, even if the universe had restored into its normal state.

A body sat next to him. He glanced over to see Quill looking quite solemn, letting out a long sigh. “You ever been in love?”

He frowned. “I’ve lived for over a millennia.”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay fine, how many times have you been in love?”

He licked his lips and looked straight ahead. “Still having difficulty with you former lover?”

“Don’t use ‘lover’ it’s gross,” he grumbled. “And yes, I’m still upset.”

“It’s not the same woman you loved.”

“I know,” he grunted. “She’s from a different timeline, yada, yada, yada. Also, you still haven’t answered my question.”

He held back a huff. “I’ve been in love a few times. Not a large amount.”

“I’d have to guess women fall to your feet. Must be nice.”

He stared ahead then turned to him. “It’s not that easy. Being in love and bedding someone are not the same thing.”

“Then rack off a number.”

He waited a few moments then answered. “Three.”

His first great love had been an Asgardian woman. She was a servant and she’d courted him. Sometimes he’d wondered if it was worth the risk that came with it. He found out soon enough she wasn’t interested to court further than his bedchambers.

The second had been Jane. Beautiful, intelligent Jane. Maybe he should’ve known from the start the woman he met the second he arrived at Midgard wasn’t his forever. Even still, she was the first person he’d loved in centuries.

The third was, slowly, Bruce. Angry, intelligent, self-conscious, over analysing, soft-spoken Bruce. Bruce who had seven PhDs – he still had no idea what that was other than it was impressive – and was able to turn into a green creature he made no secret he’d hated and could match Thor in a fight.

Bruce, his third love, the first man Thor loved, and who he was still deeply in love with.

“Three,” Quill gave with a low whistle. “Not many times.”

He gave him a shrug. “One hasn’t left.”

“Ah, I see. You’ve had that girl for a long time haven’t you?”

“No,” he said flatly. “No because it has only been five years.” He only counted the years apart because it felt like a betrayal to himself if he didn’t. All he knew for sure was that it was possible some feelings had been there before he saw him on Sakaar. Sakaar was when he finally let them out, unleashed when they’d kissed. He’d been stuck wondering what could’ve happened if Thanos had never shown up and he and Bruce were lovers. What they could’ve had if they were together for these past five years.

“That, and he’s a man,” he figured he should add.

“Oh, my bad,” he said. “So then, why are you up here instead of wherever he is?”

He took a deep breath. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated is for wusses.”

He help back a groan. “I wouldn’t call it something I am able to jump right into.”

“Does he feel the same way?”

He stayed silent, hoping the time he let pass informed Quill of his uncertainty.

“Well?” Quill asked.

He looked at the control panel. “He loves another.” His voice was low, and somehow heartbreak had found its way into it. “I think.”

“You think? How far did you go with this guy?”

“It was only a few kisses in the heat of the moment. It wasn’t… I have no reason to believe he feels the way I do.”

“Did you ask him?”

“No.”

“Maybe that’s your problem.”

He looked at him. “What does that mean?”

“Look, I’m not great with relationships but what I do know is that not saying anything isn’t going to help you. Assuming shit is an awful idea. If he feels the same, you’re just letting him get away.”

He looked away from him, deciding to end their conversation. He didn’t need to trick himself into thinking there was any possibility Bruce felt the same way. He was left burned after Jane left him.

His biggest issue was he could never find someone who saw him for who he was. On Asgard, he was nothing more than a prince. On Midgard, he was nothing more than a god. The Avengers soon saw more than that as far as he could tell but he never had full faith in it.

He wondered if Bruce saw him as more. He had no idea really. Something in him felt like he did. He knew what it was like to be seen as one aspect of yourself. He’d seen him try and grapple that when it came to Hulk. In someways, despite being so different, they were in some ways the same.

He wasn’t sure if he could get over that. He’d known Bruce long enough to know he sometimes used the worst methods to try and get to the best situation. Maybe that was another way they were the same. He’d been running from Bruce and his own problems ever since he failed to kill Thanos. Even if there was a chance of them being lovers…

“What if he says no.” He was mostly thinking aloud but he couldn’t stop his fears from coming out.

“Take it from someone who knows, don’t let love get away from you when you have it.” Quill looked across the room at Gamora. Thor noticed how his tone was both cautious and heartbroken. “It really sucks when you lose it, especially if there was a chance for you to have it.”

He looked towards Gamora, who was taking to Nebula. When he looked back at Quill he saw the certain longing in his eyes.

He couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to be in Quill’s position. To lose his lover and when he thought he had her back, she wasn’t the same woman. This Gamroa seemed to get along with Quill and Quill seemed to understand she wasn’t the same woman he’d loved.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath.

“You have those escape pods, right?”

* * *

The Avenger’s Tower was always a weird second home to Bruce. After isolating himself from people, it was nice to have the Avengers as a form of family to him. It was where he’d stayed before he found his own place in New York City, after living in India for so long.

Now it was just a place he went when he needed time out of his apartment.

Due to his frequent visits, he ended up running into the teenager Tony was mentoring. He was pretty sure he’d involved him in whatever had happened between him and Steve but he wasn’t sure. All he really knew was that the kid got bit by some radioactive spider and now he had super strength and could stick to walls.

He didn’t know him too well but when he met him, he’d excitedly exclaimed how he knew he was Dr. Banner the scientist, rather than the Hulk, and immediately warmed up to him.

“You made these yourself?” he asked, examining the contraption Peter called ‘web shooters’.

He nodded. “Yeah, they’re strong enough to hold my weight to swing on things.”

He smiled handing it back to him. “That’s probably pretty complicated, the swinging. You must love math.”

“I do!” he said. “It took me forever to figure everything out though. Now I have everything down perfectly.”

He listened as Peter rambled on about his inventions. It always felt nice to see young scientist’s enthusiasm. It made him think of himself at Peter’s age, bright eyed at the future he had.

“Have you been working on new projects?” Peter asked when he’d finished explaining how he figured out the right material for his webs after many failed attempts. “I’ve loved reading about your work.”

He shook his head. “I’ve been mostly resting. I think I’ve done as much research on gamma radiation as I could.”

He nodded. “You were inspired by Captain America, right? Wanted to replicate what they’d used on him?”

“Right. Obviously a failed attempt but I put more effort into researching gamma radiation effects. The result I got in the first place wasn’t really what I’d thought would happen.”

‘ _Puny banner_ ’

‘ _Not now, shut up_ ’

“Failure is part of science,” Peter said.

He nodded, ignoring Hulk’s mutter at Peter’s comment. “Yep, only way to find new things out.”

Peter opened his mouth to speak but it turned into a gape as the doors behind him opened. Bruce turned around, not really expecting anything out of the ordinary.

When he saw Thor enter the room, it felt like his stomach dropped.

“Thor?”

Thor was grinning at him. He still had the messy long hair and beard, even his ever so soft looking stomach. He knew a lot of time hadn’t passed since he’d left but he felt like it’d been years rather than a couple of months.

“Hey Bruce,” he said grinning at him. It reminded him of when he went to see him in New Asgard. He couldn’t say he wasn’t feeling particularly excited this time.

Before he really knew what was happening, Thor was hugging him. Bruce couldn’t stop himself from hugging him back. It was his knee jerk reaction, and there was something nice about how soft he was.

When he pulled away, he remembered why he was upset at him.

He said hi to Peter too. He noticed that his cheeks had slightly tinted pink as he grinned at him.

Well, someone had a crush. He wasn’t sure if he was surprised, people crushing on Thor was its own cliché. That only added to the fact Thor would probably not want anything to do with him romantically. When you looked like that, you would go for anyone you wanted. Usually someone equally as attractive.

At his age, he knew better than pining after people more attractive than him. Even with Nat, he was always convinced she was just flirtatious and never wanted anything more. He never got anything more anyway, other than that one time she’d kissed him. He was kidding himself in thinking they were some will they won’t they.

He never really learnt though. Pining after attractive people was pretty much second nature.

“How have you been? Doing well I hope?” Thor asked, giving him that annoying smile that always made him feel like Thor was looking at him like he was the most important person in the world. It was the same look he’d given him before he’d kissed him for the first time.

“I… uh…” the words were stuck in his throat. He wasn’t even just thinking about the kisses anymore. He hadn’t realised it but he was hurt. He didn’t have many people in his life to begin with. He couldn’t say he wasn’t hurt when it seemed like Thor up and left him. Right before they had a chance to sort out what the feeling they had were.

“You’ve been travelling with the Guardians, right?” Peter’s voice cut in, still smiling at Thor.

He nodded at Peter. “I have.”

“Back so soon?”

“I found I had more important matters on hand.” He looked at Bruce when he said this. He felt his heart thumping in his chest, and it was all too familiar of the feeling he’d get whenever Hulk would come out.

He cleared his throat. “I’ve got to get going,” he said. “I, uh, remembered I have something to do.”

He started for the door. He needed to go home and put his mind put on something else. Maybe he could find something else to put his research into.

_‘Want to see tiny god’_

_’Not now’_

“Bruce, hold on.” He heard Thor’s footsteps behind him. Thor calling him ‘Bruce’ over ‘Hulk’ or even ‘Banner’ always did something to him. It made him feel nice, even more so when he started to live in his current state. It made him feel he still saw Bruce while everyone only saw Hulk.

He was so distracted by that he didn’t even realise he tugged on his arm. Thor being able to hold him down was a hybrid of him not fighting back and Thor’s own inherent strength.

“Wait, can we just…” Thor trailed off, still holding onto his arm. “Can you stay?”

When he let go, Bruce turned to look at him “Why should I? You sure didn’t.”

“Bruce…” he trailed off, looking at him in surprise. He didn’t mean for his tone to be harsh but his anger was building in his chest and there was no stopping it now.

“It just hurt, okay? I mean, Tony’s dead, Nat’s dead, Steve’s too old to do much of anything, and Clint’s with his family. You were literally all I really had left and then you decided to fuck off to space. How could you expect me to not be at least a little hurt by it?”

“I just… I don’t know.” He could hear Thor’s voice catching in his throat. “I’m sorry. I think I needed time to collect myself.”

“Were you just expecting me to forget about Sakaar?” It was a low blow, but this is what this all boiled town to. If they’d just sorted themselves out sooner, maybe Thor would’ve never left. Maybe he could’ve been Thor’s safety net after his trauma from killing Thanos. Maybe for once in his life he would’ve been wanted by someone in such a way.

He didn’t think Thor saw it the same way. “You’re really bringing Sakaar up in front of the fourteen year old?” Thor hissed at him, leaning closer towards him. It didn’t have the same affect it used to when he had his human body, the godly strength radiating off of him that he wasn’t sure if he should be intimidated.

He’d also forgotten Peter was still there. He couldn’t even imagine what must’ve been running through his head and what conclusions he was making from what he was seeing.

He heard Peter cough. “I’m actually sixteen, and is this… uh, should I go? This feels like a private conversation. I can…”

His voice slowly faded out. It felt like his brain was screaming.

_‘Friend left. Want to see friend’_

_‘Hulk, no’_

_‘Want friend!’_

_’No!’_

_‘Friend had left! Miss friend! Want to see friend!’_

_’No!’_

The last thing he remembered was a lot of panting and seeing white.

* * *

Thor didn’t know exactly what he was seeing. Bruce was punching himself in the face, looking almost like he was having some sort of internal struggle.

He could only stare, stepping backwards, almost bumping into the kid.

“What the hell?” he heard the kid – Peter, he remembered – say. He looked behind him and saw him jump upwards, sticking to the ceiling. “Dr Banner, are you okay?”

Bruce was definitely not okay. It reminded him of how he would get before Hulk came out. But that didn’t make sense. Bruce had said he’d figured out how to put his mind with Hulk’s body.

Within a few seconds, who he saw in front of him wasn’t Bruce.

He knew almost immediately it was Hulk. It was his whole demeanour. It was the opposite of Bruce. Where Bruce was soft, Hulk was brash.

He stepped forward carefully. “Hey Hulk,” he said. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

Hulk gave him a hard look. “Tiny god.”

He nodded slowly. Before he could say anything else, Hulk picked him up and slung him over his shoulder. He stayed calm, knowing it was the best way to prevent setting off Hulk, even if he was confused by the position he’d been thrown into.

“He’s not gonna King Kong you up the building, is he?”

Right, Peter was still here. “I don’t know what that means but everything should be fine,” he assured the child, trying to crane his neck to look at him. He noticed how Hulk was staring at the roof.

“He’s a friend,” he said gently to Hulk. “Could you set me down? This isn’t the most comfortable position.”

Hulk seemed to not listen, he only gripped him tighter. He heard him mutter ‘puny Banner’. He stopped himself from sighing.

“I am confused,” Thor said. “I thought Bruce made it so…” How did he word it so it didn’t sound like Bruce had basically killed Hulk in a form?

“Hulk always stay,” he said in a low tone.

He felt his body tense. “Okay, what will happen if you let Bruce come back out? Will Bruce’s body come with it?”

Hulk let out a sound that sounded like he confirmed the suspicion.

“Can I come down now?” Thor asked again.

“No, Banner upset.”

“If Bruce comes back out I can make him very… uh, not upset? I know what the problem is.”

He hadn’t expected Bruce to care as much he had clearly shown. He came back for the mere chance he did but seeing he did was confronting. He didn’t think it was to that degree and maybe he did ruin any chances of them being together.

Hulk was silent for a few moments. Thor waited for him to calm down, and after a few moments he felt Hulk shrinking around him.

When he got his feet to the floor, he steadied himself and helped Bruce settle to the floor. He saw the green disappear, seeing Banner’s skin come back slowly, his clothes quickly becoming oversized on him.

He heard his deep panting, and he gently rubbed his hand on his back.

“What… I…” he heard him pant.

“It’s okay,” he soothed. “Sun’s going down, shh, sun’s going down.”

Bruce blinked up at him. He continued to sooth his hand in his hair.

“What happened?” he said. “Why are you bigger than me?” A moment later, he seemed to realise he wasn’t green.

“Bruce?”

“Hulk came out, didn’t he?”

“Yeah. Why did he? I thought you did some science stuff and got how you were.”

Bruce paled. “I…”

“I have a theory!” came Peter’s voice. They both glanced at him and saw him hanging upside down from the ceiling from some kind of white material.

“Okay,” Bruce prompted, shuffling away from him and standing up. Thor quickly followed him.

“What if the gamma radiation only stunted the regeneration process? It kept you in an in-between state and since nothing set Hulk off, you were stuck there.”

Bruce smiled at him. “You’re smart, Peter,” he said. “Do me a favour would you, I have spare clothes in the closet down the hall. We always kept them for Hulk instances.”

He grinned and nodded at him, shoot the white thing at another part of the ceiling and easily swinging through the doorframe.

“Well,” Thor said casually. “Good to know what went wrong.”

Bruce shook his head. He still looked really pale. “No.”

“No?” Thor frowned. Shouldn’t Bruce be happy he knew why his experiment didn’t work out.

“He’s wrong. I fucked up.” He rubbed his eyes. “I figured out a way to suppress Hulk’s control. But that didn’t get rid of him. He was still in my head. Like I told you, both hands on the wheel. Except I more so put him in the backseat while I had my hands on the wheel. He was still in my head constantly.”

He frowned, rubbing his back again. Bruce seemed more aware of it this time, shuffling away.

“I could always go back into me,” Bruce continued. “But I always hated how weak I felt.”

“You’re not weak.”

“What am I then?”

He opened his mouth to continue but he heard Peter’s footsteps behind them.

“Thanks, Peter,” Bruce said, walking passed him and taking the clothes.

“No worries, Dr Banner,” he smiled. “And I’m just heading out.”

“Already?” he asked. “Sure you don’t want to stay?”

He shook his head. “I have things to do.” He looked at Thor and he didn’t miss the slightest bit of a blush. “It was good seeing you too.”

He smiled at him. “Likewise.”

A few seconds later, he swung out the door frame.

“I think he’s got a crush on you,” Bruce said idly.

He laughed. “And you think he doesn’t on you?”

“Admire and crush aren’t the same thing.”

Bruce was clutching his clothes to his chest and turned to look at him. “Sakaar.”

“Yes?”

“Why’d you kiss me?”

He took a deep breath, trying to come up with an answer that felt right. But the truth was, why he did it was definitely too much for Bruce right now.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it.” He knew well enough that Bruce had feelings for Natasha. He shouldn’t have let his feelings get to him, especially when they’d just escaped death.

Bruce stared at him. “What do you mean you’re sorry?”

“I let emotions get to me at a bad moment. I hadn’t been thinking clearly and I shouldn’t have done it. I knew you had feelings for Natasha and I don’t even know if you’re interested in men. It was reckless and inappropriate and I’m–”

Suddenly, lips were on his. He had to step back to keep his balance and held onto Bruce by his hips.

It brought him right back to Sakaar. How lost in his kiss he was, how he had been seconds away from pushing him onto the nearby bed. If it weren’t for Thanos… he really couldn’t imagine where they could or would be.

Feeling Bruce lean more into the kiss turned his mind white. He stopped caring about what ifs and kissed him back until he was struggling for air.

Bruce was the one to pull away first. “You talk way too much sometimes,” he mumbled agains his lips, his fingers tangling in his hair. “I thought you regretted it, that you realised you could do better than me.”

“What about Nat?”

Bruce let out a long sigh. “I cared about her, I really did. But if we actually wanted to be together, we would’ve. She and I just weren’t meant to be.” His thumb rubbed his cheekbone. “And if I’m being honest, I forgot about her after you kissed me.”

He relaxed against his hand, feeling his heart race in his chest. “Bruce.”

He smiled at him. “Yeah?”

He leaned forward and kissed him himself. He felt Bruce smile agains his lips as he kissed him back.

“You are too much sometimes,” Bruce mumbled against his lips. “But I have absolutely no regrets.”

**Author's Note:**

> Did I low key write this because I have Thoughts™ on Professor Hulk? Yes, yes I did.


End file.
